Methods and systems for monitoring the condition of vehicle components from a nomadic wireless device or computer

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for detecting a working condition of one or more vehicle components includes communicating with a cellular communication module in a vehicle over a telecommunications network. A vehicle component characteristic or identifier for the vehicle components is received over the telecommunication network. One or more operation status identifiers for the one or more vehicle components based on data from the vehicle is also received. A location for servicing or purchasing the one or more vehicle components based on the vehicle component characteristic or identifier is determined. A service status of the one or more vehicle components based on the one or more operation status identifiers is also determined. Based on the service status, a message including an identification of the vehicle components and a service or purchase location for the vehicle components is generated. The message is transmitted to a terminal for display.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

One or more embodiments include a method and system for remotelymonitoring a condition of vehicle components or systems. One or morevehicle components or systems may be monitored from a nomadic wirelessdevice or computer.

2. Background Art

Mechanical and electrical problems with a vehicle can arise at any time,but the vehicle may manifest only a few symptoms. For example, a squeak,a rattle, or a “knocking” noise coming from the vehicle is likely toindicate that the car needs a servicing. These typically are the easiersigns of a potential problem. On the other hand, predicting that asignal light bulb is about to fuse, for example, may be harder to gauge.A vehicle owner can take his or her vehicle to a specialist to examinethe vehicle for potential problems, but this can be time consuming andexpensive.

Various alternatives have been suggested in the art for identifying anddiagnosing vehicle service conditions. For example, US Publication No.2008/0215665 issued to Appleby, et al., discloses a method forgenerating an update status alert at a receiving device. The receivingdevice operates in a network of participating devices. Eachparticipating device broadcasts status information about a monitoredentity associated with a respective participating device which may be avehicle. Accordingly, the method comprises receiving broadcast statusinformation from each of the participating devices. The method furthercomprises aggregating the received status information to derive aconsensus of the status information received from each of theparticipating devices; comparing the derived consensus with the statusof the monitored entity of the receiving device; detecting a differencebetween the derived consensus and the status of the monitored entity;and in dependence of a difference being determined, generating an updatestatus alert at the receiving device.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,738,697 issued to Breed discloses a telematics systemfor vehicle diagnostics. A vehicle diagnostic system which diagnoses thestate of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle andgenerates an output indicative or representative thereof is presented. Acommunications device transmits the output of the diagnostic system to aremote location, possibly via a satellite or the Internet. Thediagnostic system can include sensors mounted on the vehicle, eachproviding a measurement related to a state of the sensor or ameasurement related to a state of the mounting location, and a processorcoupled to the sensors and arranged to receive data from the sensors andprocess the data to generate the output indicative or representative ofthe state of the vehicle or its component. The processor may embody apattern recognition algorithm trained to generate the output from thedata received from the sensors and be arranged to control parts of thevehicle based on the output.

Furthermore, certain vehicles are equipped with telematics systems thatcan diagnose the condition of a vehicle. One example is the SYNC systemmanufactured by the Ford Motor Company.

Nevertheless, while these alternatives provide certain benefits, what isneeded is a method and system for monitoring the condition of vehiclecomponents from a remote nomadic wireless device or computer. Moreover,having ready access to information about a vehicle component including,but not limited to, a location to purchase the vehicle component and itsprice, would also be desirable.

SUMMARY

One aspect may include a computer-implemented method for detecting aworking condition of one or more vehicle components. The method includescommunicating with a cellular communication device in a vehicle over atelecommunications network. The method further includes receiving overthe telecommunication network a vehicle component characteristic oridentifier for one or more vehicle components and one or more operationstatus identifiers for the one or more vehicle components based on datafrom the vehicle. The vehicle component identifier may include a vehiclecomponent type, a vehicle component product number, a vehicle componentproduct name, or other identification information. The one or morevehicle components may be one or more vehicle bulbs, one or more vehicletires, or other vehicle components.

Another aspect may include determining a location for servicing orpurchasing the one or more vehicle components based on the vehiclecomponent characteristic or identifier. The location includes at leastone of a retail store, dealership, or service location and, in oneembodiment, a name, address, and one or more directions to the location.

In one embodiment, determining a servicing or purchasing location isbased on a location of the vehicle. Accordingly, the method furtherincludes receiving over the telecommunications network one or moregeographic coordinates of the vehicle and determining the location forservice or purchase of the one or more vehicle components based on theone or more geographic coordinates.

The method may further include determining a service status of the oneor more vehicle components based on the one or more operation statusidentifiers. Based on the service status, the method may further includegenerating a message including an identification of the one or morevehicle components and a service or purchase location for the one ormore vehicle components. Additionally, the method may includetransmitting the at least one message for display at a terminal such asa computer, cellular telephone, or PDA.

In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving one or morelocations predefined by a user and determining the service or purchaselocation with respect to the one or more predefined locations.

In one embodiment, there may be two sets of operation statusidentifiers. The first operation status identifiers are useful fordisplay to a user at a nomadic device (ND) or a personal computer (PC).The second operation status identifiers may be readable and/or useful toa vehicle system. Accordingly, the method may further includecorresponding the one or more second operation status identifiers to theone or more first operation status identifiers and determining theservice status.

In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving from aninventory or servicing database price information for a service orpurchase of one or more vehicle components and generating a messageincluding a price for the service or purchase of the one or more vehiclecomponents based on the price information.

In yet another embodiment, the method further includes receivingservicing or inventory information from the one or more service orpurchase locations. The method further includes determining a service orinventory availability for the one or more vehicle components. Themethod additionally includes transmitting the service or inventoryavailability with the at least one message.

The method may further include, if the service or inventory of one ormore vehicle components is unavailable in one service or purchaselocation, determining an alternate service or purchase location.Accordingly, the message includes the alternate service or purchaselocation.

Another aspect may include a computer program product for detecting aworking condition of one or more vehicle components. The computerprogram product includes instructions for receiving a vehicle componentcharacteristic or identifier for one or more vehicle componentstransmitted over a telecommunications network. The computer programproduct further includes instructions for receiving the one or moreoperation status identifiers for the one or more vehicle componentsbased on data from the vehicle. The computer program product furtherincludes instructions for determining a location for servicing orpurchasing the one or more vehicle components based on the vehiclecomponent characteristic or identifier.

The computer program product further includes instructions fordetermining a service status of the one or more vehicle components basedon the one or more operation status identifiers. The computer programproduct further includes instructions for generating a message includingan identification of one or more vehicle components and a service orpurchase location for the one or more vehicle components based on theservice status. Additionally, the computer program product includesinstructions for transmitting the at least one message for display at aterminal. The terminal may be a nomadic device or a personal computer.

In one embodiment, the instructions for determining a location forservicing or purchasing the one or more vehicle components furtherinclude instructions for receiving one or more geographic coordinates ofthe vehicle transmitted over the telecommunications network. Thecomputer program product may further include instructions fordetermining the location for service or purchase of the one or morevehicle components based on the one or more geographic coordinates.

In additional embodiments, the computer program product may includeinstructions for transmitting one or more manual inspection inputsignals originating from the at least one terminal for performing amanual inspection of the one or more vehicle components at the vehicle.The computer program product may further include instructions forreceiving the one or more operation status identifiers based on themanual inspection.

In further embodiments, the computer program product includesinstructions for transmitting an input signal originating from the atleast one terminal for an automatic inspection of the one or morevehicle components based on an automatic inspection sequence performedat the vehicle. The computer program product may further includeinstructions for receiving the one or more operation status identifiersbased on the automatic inspection. The automatic inspection sequence mayinclude an inspection of one or more vehicle lights, a batterycondition, vehicle diagnostics, oil condition, oil change status, andmaintenance record retrieval.

Another aspect may include a computer-implemented system for detecting aworking condition of one or more vehicle components. Thecomputer-implemented system may include a data processor configured toreceive from a vehicle a vehicle component characteristic or identifierfor one or more vehicle components.

The data processor may be further configured to receive one or moreoperation status identifiers for the one or more vehicle componentsbased on data received from the vehicle. Furthermore, the data processormay be configured to determine a location for servicing or purchasingthe one or more vehicle components based on the vehicle componentcharacteristic or identifier.

The data processor may also be configured to determine a service statusof the one or more vehicle components based on the one or more operationstatus identifiers. The data processor may be further configured togenerate a message including an identification of the one or morevehicle components and a service or purchase location for the one ormore vehicle components based on the service status. The data processormay be additionally configured to transmit the at least one message fordisplay at a terminal such as a computer, cellular telephone, or PDA.

In one embodiment, the vehicle includes a trailer connected to thevehicle and the one or more vehicle components may include a trailerconnection. Accordingly, the data processor may be further configured todetect the working condition of the vehicle and the trailer.

These and other aspects of the present invention will be betterunderstood in view of the attached drawings and following detaileddescription of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures identified below are illustrative of some embodiments of thepresent invention. The figures are not intended to be limiting of theinvention recited in the appended claims. Embodiments of the presentinvention, both as to their organization and manner of operation,together with further object and advantages thereof, may best beunderstood with reference to the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a communication system throughwhich a nomadic device can communicate with a vehicle according to oneor more of the various embodiments;

FIGS. 2a-d show illustrative examples of vehicle-based communicationdevices that provide communication to a remote network according to oneor more of the various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a non-limiting exemplary operation of thevehicle-based communication device according to one or more of thevarious embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of one aspect of the system accordingto one or more of the various embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of another aspect of the systemaccording to another one of the one or more various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein.However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely exemplary of an invention that may be embodied in various andalternative forms. Therefore, specific functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis forteaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the presentinvention.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a communication system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In thisillustrative embodiment, a nomadic device (e.g., without limitation, acellular phone) 103 is used to send a communication through a cellularnetwork 107. This communication is relayed through a network 111 (e.g.,without limitation, the cellular network, the internet, etc.) to acentralized computing system 101. A system similar to the system shownin FIG. 1 is available from CRAYON INTERFACE, INC.

In this illustrative embodiment, the centralized computing system is oneor more server systems which may include processing capability forincoming nomadic device signals designated to interact with a remotevehicle 121.

For example, the server(s) 101 may include an automated call serverand/or web host. Further, the server(s) may route an incoming signalfrom a nomadic device 103 to the appropriate remote vehicle. Data sentin this fashion may be sent using data-over-voice, a data-plan, or inany other suitable format.

Data can also be exchanged with the remote vehicle through the server(s)using a personal computer 105. In this case, the data is likely,although not necessarily, sent over the internet 109.

Once the server(s) 101 receive the incoming data request from the remotesource 103, 105, the message may be processed and/or relayed to avehicle. The vehicle may be identified by a header associated with oneor more incoming data packets, or may be identifiable based on adatabase lookup, for example.

The relay to the vehicle may be sent out from the server(s) 101 througha network (e.g., without limitation, a cellular network 113, theinternet, etc.) and passed through a cellular network 115 to the vehicle121. In one embodiment, the relay may additionally be passed through abroadband network 114 (e.g., 802.11g or WiMax). With reference to FIG.2a , a remote communication device 200 in the vehicle receives thesignal sent from the servers and processes it or relays it to anappropriate processing system within the vehicle.

In at least one illustrative embodiment, the vehicle may also beoutfitted with a communication transceiver, such as, but not limited to,a BLUETOOTH transceiver. This transceiver may allow communication withthe nomadic device (ND) 103 using a direct signal 119 if, for example,cellular networks are unavailable.

FIGS. 2a-d show illustrative examples of vehicle-based communicationdevices that provide communication to a remote network.

FIG. 2a shows an illustrative example of a communication device incommunication with a GPS module.

In this illustrative embodiment, a communications module 200 can includea cellular (e.g., and without limitation, GSM or CDMA) antenna 201 thatcommunicates with a remote server over a cellular network. The receivedcellular signal may be sent from the cellular antenna 201 to amulti-band cellular (e.g., and without limitation, GSM or CDMA) decoder219 that processes the received signal to produce information usable bythe microprocessor 217.

In this illustrative embodiment, the multi-band cellular chip 219, whichmay include flash memory 207 and RAM 211, is installed in the module aspart of a removable device 223 including a SIM card 221. The SIM cardmay contain user identifying information that allows access to thecellular network under a particular user's plan.

Additionally, the module may include a GPS chip 203 that can process anddecode a signal from the GPS antenna 205 and send this information to amicroprocessor 217.

The microprocessor 217 may also be in communication with a vehicle databus that provides access to various vehicle modules, such as a RF module215. Other modules not shown include, but are not limited to, thevehicle cluster, a remote (off-board) GPS system, a radio module, etc.Non-limiting examples of a vehicle data bus include an SAE J1850 bus, aCAN bus, a GMLAN bus, and any other vehicle data buses known in the art.For illustration purposes only, FIGS. 2a-2d are represented as using aCAN bus.

FIG. 2b shows a second exemplary embodiment in which a cellular moduleand GPS are on the same board 223. In this illustrative embodiment, theremovable board (this board may also be permanently attached to thedevice) 223 may contain the SIM card 221, a GPS module including a GPSchip 203 and a GPS antenna 205 a, and the Multi-band cellular chip 219including flash memory 207 and RAM 211.

In another embodiment, the GPS antenna 205 b may be attached to themodule separately from this board 223. When a signal comes in from thecellular antenna and/or the GPS Antenna 205 b, the signal may be sent tothe corresponding cellular/GPS chip for processing, and then passed tothe microprocessor 217. The microprocessor interfaces with the CANtransceiver 213 to connect to a vehicle network 214 and vehicle modulessuch as a RF module 215.

FIG. 2c shows yet another exemplary embodiment in which the cellularmodule is standalone. In this illustrative embodiment, the GPS modulecontaining the GPS antenna 205 and the GPS chip 203 may connect to themicroprocessor 217 through the CAN transceiver 213. Other vehiclemodules, such as an RF module 215 can also connect to the microprocessorthrough the CAN transceiver 213.

In this illustrative embodiment, the removable board 223 may contain aSIM card 221 and a multi-band cellular chip 219, as well as a flashmemory 207 and RAM 211. Signals from the cellular antenna 201 may besent to the board 223 for processing by the multi-band cellular chip 219before being sent to the microprocessor 217.

FIG. 2d shows still another exemplary embodiment in which a cellularmodule is combined with an RF module 215 in the communications module200. The RF module 215 may continue to talk to the microprocessor 217through the CAN transceiver 213. In this illustrative embodiment, theGPS module, including the GPS antenna 203 a, 203 b and GPS chip 205 a,205 b can be located within the communications module 200 or locatedelsewhere in the vehicle, in which case it may communicate with themicroprocessor 217 through the CAN transceiver 213.

Again, in this embodiment, the cellular antenna 201 may send a signal tothe multi-band cellular chip 219, including flash memory 207 and RAM211. The signal may be processed and sent to the microprocessor 217. Themulti-band cellular chip 219 may be located on a removable circuit board223, which may also include a SIM card 221.

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the communication module 200according to one of the various embodiments. The ND 103 or computer 105may be used as a device to monitor the condition of various features ofthe vehicle. The ND 103 or computer 105 may include software forfacilitating the monitoring of the one or more vehicle conditions. Thesoftware may be downloaded to the ND 103 or computer 105 from a website(such as an OEM's website) or, as another non-limiting example, comefactory installed in the ND 103. One example of a website isSyncMyRide.com hosted by The Ford Motor Company. In one embodiment, thesoftware may be a programmed in the JAVA language (manufactured anddistributed by Sun Microsystems).

In one or more embodiments, a user may control one vehicle with multipleNDs 103 or computers 105. Additionally or alternatively, the user mayuse one ND 103 or computer 105 to operate components of multiplevehicles.

The user may activate and operate the application to monitor one or morevehicle components or systems (hereinafter referred to as a “vehiclemonitoring application”) using one or more button or key presses fromhis or her ND 103 and/or computer 105. In one embodiment, the ND 103and/or computer 105 may be equipped with a shortkey or “hot button” fromwhich the vehicle monitoring application may be activated. Alternativelyor additionally, the user may activate and operate the vehiclemonitoring application through a menu selection from a graphical userinterface (GUI) displayed on the ND 103 and/or computer 105.Alternatively or additionally, the user may operate and activate thevehicle monitoring application through one or more voice-activatedcommands received by the ND 103 and/or computer 105. The ND 103 and/orcomputer 105 may include speech recognition software for interpretingand processing commands from a user into machine readable language. Inone embodiment, the speech recognition software may be programmed and/orstored to the web server. Non-limiting examples of a user may be avehicle owner, a vehicle passenger, a vehicle service technician, or avehicle dealer.

Upon making the request (via, e.g., key button press or voice), one ormore data packets may be transmitted from the ND 103 or computer 105 asillustrated in block 300. Non-limiting examples of data transmitted inthe data packets may include a mobile identification number (MIN), acustomer identification number, the one or more commands triggered fromthe ND 103 and/or 105, and the vehicle identification number (VIN).

For example, if a user desires to check the condition of his or herinterior lights from his or her computer 105, the user may beginoperation of the vehicle monitoring application by selecting aselectable button on the user display of the computer 105 or speaking acommand into the computer's microphone (not shown) to activate thevehicle monitoring application. In some embodiments, upon initiatingactivation of the vehicle monitoring application, the user may bepresented with one or more further selections for operating the vehiclemonitoring application. Selection of one or more selectable button fromthe user interface may trigger the transmission of the one or more datapackets.

The one or more data packets transmitted from the ND 103 and/or computer105 may include instructions for accomplishing the selection/requestmade by the user at the vehicle. For example, in the above example,where the user desires to monitor the condition of his or her interiorlights, one or more data items may be transmitted from the computer 105based on the user's selection.

The user may monitor the condition of other non-limiting vehiclecomponents. For example, the user may select a selectable input (e.g., abutton or hyperlink) for monitoring the condition of the exterior lightsand/or light signals. As another example, the user may select aselectable input for assessing the condition of the battery. As anotherexample, there may be a selectable input for running one or more vehiclediagnostic tests to check for diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs).Furthermore, there may be a selectable input for assessing the conditionof the vehicle's oil and reporting on the status of the vehicle's oilchange history (e.g., the vehicle's last oil change). A user may furtherselect a selectable input for receiving a report on the vehicle'smaintenance records (e.g., with respect to the vehicle's mileage).

In one embodiment, the data packets may include instructions forautomatically inspecting one or more vehicle components. The automaticinspection may be accomplished according to an automatic inspectionsequence (e.g., stored at the vehicle or at the server(s) 101). Inanother embodiment, the user may manually monitor the condition ofvehicle components from his or her ND 103 and/or computer 105. In someembodiments, the user may further command a trailer brake and/or trailersignal lights. Further details of the automatic and manual inspectionwill be described below with respect of FIG. 5.

In an additional embodiment, the user may also be able to monitor thestatus of his or her vehicle tires. For example, a user may request fromhis or her ND 103 and/or computer 105 for the status of one or moretires. As will be described below and with respect to FIG. 3, datapackets with these and other instructions may be transmitted to thevehicle, processed, and one or more result data packets may be returnedto the ND 103 and/or computer 105 with the status of at least one tire.The report generated to the user may provide information on the pressurein each requested tire. In one embodiment, the display may identify thetire by highlighting the tire on the ND 103 and/or computer 105 display.

The report may also include information about purchasing a new tire(e.g., location and price). Further details of the report will bedescribed in detail below.

Referring back to FIG. 3, before or after the data packets aretransmitted, a connection may be generated with the server(s) 101 asillustrated in block 302. The server(s) 101 may or may not be a webserver. Once a connection to sever(s) 101 is made, the data packets maybe received by the server(s) 101 as illustrated in block 304.Alternatively or additionally, a direct connection may be made betweenthe ND 103 or computer 105 and the cellular communication module 200(i.e., without making a connection to server(s) 101). Accordingly, theoperation of one or more embodiments may be accomplished without aserver.

The server(s) 101 may process one or more received commands fortransmission to the vehicle 121. Processing the data packet may include,but is not limited to, authenticating the one or more commands,authenticating the user (e.g., determining if the user is a registereduser) and authenticating the cellular/mobile phone (e.g., matching theMIN to the VIN) transmitted in the data packet. In one non-limitingembodiment, the server(s) 101 may process the data packet using one ormore look-up tables and validating the information in the data packetsagainst the one or more tables. The server(s) 101 may also housesoftware for accomplishing one or more embodiments further describedbelow.

The server(s) 101 may be in communication with one or more databases(not shown). Non-limiting examples of data that may be stored in the oneor more databases may include locations from where to buy replacementparts, locations of servicing dealerships, information relating to thereplacement part (e.g., which part to purchase by part number, DTCs,inventory data (e.g., from retailers and dealerships) and vehiclemaintenance records. The data may be retrieved from third-party systems,OEM (e.g., vehicle) databases/servers or manually inputted by a user(e.g., an OEM).

In one embodiment, a determination may be made at the server(s) 101 ifthe user has any personal preferences associated with the vehiclemonitoring application as illustrated in block 306. While thepreferences may be stored elsewhere, for purposes of illustration, FIG.3 illustrates the operation based on the personal preferences beingstored on the server(s) 101.

The personal preferences may be stored on the server(s) 101.Alternatively or additionally, the personal preferences may be stored inthe ND's 103 or computer's 105 memory (not shown). In yet anotherembodiment, the personal preferences may be stored at the vehicle (e.g.,on the SIM card 221, on the microprocessor 217 of the cellularcommunication module 200, or in a memory module present elsewhere in thevehicle). In this latter embodiment, the server(s) 101 may route thedata packets to the vehicle without further processing.

Non-limiting examples of personal preferences may be the inspectionsequence for inspecting the vehicle lights, one or more preferredlocations for acquiring a replacement vehicle component, and/or one ormore preferred locations for servicing the vehicle. The preference maybe stored in the server(s) 101, although it may also be stored on the ND103 and/or computer 105 or at the vehicle.

The inspection sequence may additionally be pre-programmed to thevehicle by, for example, an OEM. As such, in order to activate anautomatic inspection, the user may select whether to perform anautomatic inspection or a manual inspection from the ND 103 and/orcomputer 105.

Referring back to FIG. 3, if the user has personal preferencesassociated with one or more vehicle components, the server(s) 101 mayreceive instructions to access the stored preferences as illustrated inblock 308. In one embodiment, the instructions may be transmitted withthe one or more data packets received from the ND 103 and/or computer105. The server(s) 101 may extract or read these instructions from thedata packets to retrieve the stored personal preferences.

In one embodiment, a further determination may be made at server(s) 101as to whether a personal identification number (PIN) is required toaccess the personal preferences or to operate the vehicle monitoringapplication as illustrated in block 312. The PIN may be stored atserver(s) 101 or may be transmitted with the data packets transmittedfrom the ND 103 and/or the computer 105. If a PIN is required, theserver(s) 101 may transmit a request for the PIN as illustrated in block314. The request may be transmitted to one or more memory locations(e.g., a database) on the server(s) 101 or to the remote terminals 103,105. The PIN may be retrieved from the server(s) 101 using, for example,a look-up table based on information such as VIN, a customer number, aMIN, or other non-limiting identifiers. It should be understood that thePIN may be retrieved in any other means known in the art and theprevious example is illustrative.

The server(s) 101 may receive the PIN as illustrated in block 316. ThePIN may then be validated as illustrated in block 318. If the PIN is notcorrect, the server(s) 101 may re-transmit the request as represented byloop 320. In one embodiment, a user may reenter a PIN a predeterminednumber of times (e.g., 3 or 5 times) after entering an incorrect PIN. Ifthe PIN is correct, the server(s) 101 may retrieve the personalpreferences associated with the request, as illustrated in block 322,and transmit the one or more data packets with the stored preferences tothe cellular communication module as illustrated in block 310.

If a PIN is not required to access the personal preferences or if thereare no stored preferences, upon receiving the one or more data packets,the server(s) 101 may transmit the one or more data packets to thecellular communication module as represented in block 310. The one ormore data packets may be transmitted over the network (e.g., cellularnetwork 113 or the internet). The cellular communication module 200 maythen receive (e.g., via cellular antenna 201) the one or more datapackets over the network as represented in block 326.

The microprocessor 217 may listen for and/or transmit signals from/tothe vehicle network 214 as represented in block 330. In one embodiment,the one or more signals may be decoded and translated at themicroprocessor 217 for communication with the vehicle data bus (e.g.,CAN transceiver 213 and vehicle network 214) as represented in block328.

As will be described below, the user may receive a status message at ND103 and/or computer 105 regarding the working condition of the vehiclecomponent(s). The status message may be received as a text message, SMSmessage, or email.

The status message may include additional information. Non-limitingexamples may include one or more locations where to purchase or serviceparts requiring replacement or servicing, the name and address of theone or more locations, the price of the service or replacement part,directions to the one or more locations, and the distance of the one ormore locations from a predetermined location.

FIG. 4 illustrates this aspect according to one or more embodiments. Oneor more vehicle components characteristics or identifiers may bereceived by the server(s) 101 as illustrated in block 400. Thecharacteristics or identifiers may also be received by the ND 103 and orcomputer 105. For purposes of illustration, the operation is describedwith respect to the server(s) 101.

The characteristics or identifiers may be programmed to and stored inmemory (not shown) of server(s) 101. Alternatively or additionally, thecharacteristics or identifiers may be stored on software incommunication with server(s) 101.

A servicing location or location for purchasing one or more vehiclecomponents may be received as illustrated in block 402. The locationsmay also be programmed to at least one of server(s) 101, ND 103, and/orcomputer 105. In one embodiment, the location may be user defined. Forexample, at least one user preference may be to find a service orpurchase location near the user's home, office, or other locationdefined by the user. In another embodiment, the location may be based onthe geographic location of the vehicle. In this embodiment, locationinformation of the vehicle (e.g. the vehicle's geographic coordinates)may be received by and transmitted from the GPS module (GPS antenna 205and GPS chip 203) to the server(s) 101. Server(s) 101 may communicatewith a mapping engine (not shown) for determining location information.For example, the mapping engine may determine an address of the serviceor purchasing location based on the geographic coordinates. As anothernon-limiting example, the mapping engine may determine the distance of aservicing or purchasing location with respect to the user definedlocation.

One or more identifiers representing an operation status of the vehiclecomponents may also be received as illustrated in block 404. Theidentifiers may be used in processing (i.e., translating) theidentifiers received from the vehicle into computer-readableinformation. For example, the codes may translate vehicle-baseddiagnostic trouble codes into computer readable codes. In oneembodiment, the processing may occur using a look-up table. In anotherembodiment, the codes may be processed using instructions programmed tothe server(s) 101. The one or more remote terminal-based identifiers maybe programmed to the server(s) 101.

Upon receiving one or more status identifiers from the vehicle, anoperation status may be determined as illustrated in block 406.

Based on the operation status received from the vehicle, a determinationmay be made whether a servicing is needed or one or more parts requirereplacement as illustrated in block 408. If no servicing or replacementparts are needed, a message may be generated for transmission to the ND103 and/or computer 105 indicating the status of the vehiclecomponent(s) as illustrated in block 410.

If servicing or replacement parts are needed, the needed part and atleast one service or purchase location is identified as illustrated inblock 412. The needed part may be identified by, without limitation,part name, part type, or part number. The part and location may beidentified through a look-up of a database (not shown) in communicationwith server(s) 101.

A message may be generated with the location information and anidentification of the part as illustrated in block 414. Additionalnon-limiting examples of information that may be included in the messageinclude a price for servicing or purchasing one or more vehiclecomponents and servicing and inventory status of the vehicle components.In one embodiment, the message may further include one or more alternatelocations if servicing or purchase is unavailable at one or morelocations based on inventory information or service schedules. Inventoryinformation or service schedules may be stored and transmitted from oneor more databases (not shown) external to system and in communicationwith server(s) 101, for example, and without limitation, retailerdatabases or vehicle dealership databases. The message may betransmitted to remote terminals 103, 105 as illustrated in block 416 andreceived by remote terminals 103, 105 as illustrated in block 418.

An automatic inspection of the vehicle may be accomplished using one ormore embodiments. FIG. 5 illustrates this aspect. As illustrated inblock 500, the cellular communication module 200 may receive one or moresignals for monitoring the condition of one or more vehicle components.The signals may be decoded for interpretation by the vehicle by themicroprocessor 217. The signals may includes one or more operationstatus identifiers (e.g., data bus codes) which may or may not beproprietary.

For example, the user may desire to determine the condition of theexterior lights of his or her vehicle. From the ND 103 and/or computer105, upon selecting one or more inputs for conducting an inspection ofthe vehicle lights, the data packets may be received by thecommunication module 200 which may communicate with the CAN transceiver213 to receive data from the vehicle lighting system via the vehiclenetwork 214.

A determination may be made whether the user has requested an automaticinspection as illustrated in block 502. The request for an automaticinspection may be transmitted as a data packet from the ND 103 and/orcomputer 105 or the microprocessor 217 may be programmed to outputinstruction for an automatic inspection as a default. Upon receivinginstructions for a sequence associated with the automatic inspection, asillustrated in block 504, the microprocessor 217 may further receiveinstructions for performing the automatic inspection according to theinspection sequence as illustrated in block 506. One or more resultsignals may be received by the microprocessor 217 (via the vehiclenetwork 214) from the one or more vehicle components as illustrated inblock 508. The vehicle condition of the one or more components may thenbe determined according to the instructions as illustrated in block 510.

In one embodiment, a further determination may be made if there areother components to inspect as illustrated in block 512. For example,upon inspecting the exterior lights based on the request, the user maybe asked whether he or she would like to have other componentsinspected. Non-limiting examples may include checking on the batterycondition, performing a diagnostic test, checking for diagnostic troublecodes (DTC), checking the oil and when the last oil changed may haveoccurred, and viewing and transmitting maintenance records. At times,the condition of all components may be automatically monitored in theautomatic inspection sequence. Accordingly, in some embodiments, thedecision in block 512 may not occur automatically.

As illustrated in block 514, if no further components need to beinspected, the return signal(s) received from the one or more vehiclecomponents may be transmitted from the cellular communication module 200to the ND 103 and/or computer 105. The result signal may include astatus of the condition of the vehicle component for display to theuser. The result signal may further include instructions for displayingthe result to the user as at least one of an email, SMS or text message.

In one embodiment, the user may manually inspect his or her vehicle. Thecellular communication module 200 may receive instructions for a manualinspection as illustrated in block 516. Manual inputs from the user maybe received as one or more data packets as illustrated in block 518.Each manual input data packet may be received by the communicationmodule 200 which may communicate with the CAN transceiver 213 forreceiving one or more result signals from the one or more vehiclecomponents as illustrated in block 508. Accordingly, the condition ofthe one or more vehicle components may be determined as illustrated inblock 510. In one embodiment, a determination may be made whether thereare other components to be inspected as illustrated in block 512.

A result signal may be transmitted from the one or more components thathave been inspected as illustrated in block 514.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the cellular communication module 200 mayreceive the one or more result signals transmitted from the one or morevehicle components as illustrated in block 332 via the vehicle bus. Thecommunication module 200 may extract one or more return data packetsfrom the return signal for transmission to the ND 103 and/or computer105 as in block 334. Transmission may be accomplished by the cellularantenna 201 over network 115. Furthermore, the cellular communicationmodule 200 (e.g., the microprocessor 217) may process the return datapackets for interpretation by the server(s) 101 and/or the remoteterminal 103, 105. This processing may occur, for example, using alook-up table.

The data packets may be transmitted to the remote terminals 103 and/or105 as illustrated in block 336. In one embodiment, the return datapackets may be routed through server(s) 101, as illustrated in block338, which may or may not further process the data packets fortransmission to the remote terminals 103 and/or 105.

If the server(s) 101 process the result signal(s), the server(s) 101 maybe programmed to extract from a database (not shown) in communicationwith server(s) 101 information about the vehicle component(s) (e.g., andwithout limitation, for a fused bulb, the bulb type). The server(s) 101may further retrieve information about where to purchase the one or morecomponents (including, but not limited to, a retail store, a dealership,or a service shop). Other non-limiting information may be retrieved forinclusion in the result signal such as a name and address of a businesswhere a vehicle part can be acquired, prices of the one or more vehiclecomponent(s), the distance of a business from the vehicle location, theamount of inventory at a location for the one or more vehiclecomponent(s), and directions to the business. As described above, thisdata may be stored in and extracted from a database (not shown) incommunication with server(s) 101.

The result data packet(s) may be transmitted to (as illustrated in block340) and received by the ND 103 and/or computer 105. A report may begenerated and displayed to the user showing, for example, the conditionstatus of the one or more vehicle components as illustrated in block342. For example, in one embodiment, the report may show which bulb inthe vehicle is out and the type of bulb needed to replace it. The reportmay further state (without limitation) where the user may purchase thebulb, the price of the bulb, how many items are in inventory, the bulbtype, and the distance of a location from where to acquire the bulb. Asdescribed above, this information may be retrieved from server(s) 101.

As another example, if a user submitted a request to check the conditionof one or both signal lights and if the data item was unsuccessfullytransmitted to one or both signal lights, then a return data item may betransmitted from the cellular communication module 200 to the ND 103and/or computer 105 indicating that transmission was unsuccessful. Thismessage may be displayed on the user interface. Alternatively, if thedata item was successfully transmitted, a message displaying asuccessful transmission may be returned. In some embodiments, the usermay further see such non-limiting messages as “left signal lightworking” or “right signal light working.”

The report may be generated each time the user requests the status ofone or more vehicle components. Alternatively or additionally, thereport may be generated at predetermined time intervals or according toa user preference (e.g., on a monthly basis or each time the userspecifically requests a report). The report may include general detailsregarding the status of the one or more vehicle components and/or veryspecific details. For example, general details may include, but are notlimited to, which components may or may not be functional. Specificdetails may include, but are not limited to, information regarding thereplacement part needed (e.g., a part number).

In one embodiment, the report may further include information relatingto dealers, retail stores, and/or service shops. Non-limiting examplesmay include in which location a replacement part may be purchased andthe geographic location of the dealer, retail store and/or service shop.The report may further include inventory information, distance of alocation from a predetermined location (e.g., the driver's home oroffice), and distance of a location from the vehicle.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described,it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe allpossible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in thespecification are words of description rather than limitation, and it isunderstood that various changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:communicating from a cellular phone to a cellular communication devicearranged in communication with a vehicle computing system (VCS);receiving a vehicle component identifier for a component from the VCS,including a component status; determining a location for servicing orpurchasing the component; and based on the component status, generatingand displaying on the cellular phone a message including a service orpurchase location for the vehicle component.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1 further comprising: receiving a request from thecellular phone for obtaining an operation status of a specific vehiclecomponent; and communicating the request to the VCS.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving oneor more geographic coordinates of the vehicle from the VCS; anddetermining the location for service or purchase of the vehiclecomponent based on proximity to the geographic coordinates.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving oneor more locations predefined by a user; and determining the service orpurchase location based on proximity to the one or more predefinedlocations.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein thevehicle component identifier includes at least one of a vehiclecomponent type, a vehicle component product number, or a vehiclecomponent product name.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1wherein the location includes at least one of a retail store,dealership, or service location.
 7. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 6 wherein the location further includes at least one of a name,address, and one or more directions to the location.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising: receivingfrom an inventory or servicing database price information for a serviceor purchase of the component; and wherein the message further includesthe price.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 furthercomprising: receiving servicing or inventory information from theservice or purchase location, wherein the message further includesavailability of the service or the component for replacement, based onthe received servicing or inventory information.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the service or purchaselocation is a first service or purchase location and the method furthercomprises determining one or more second service or purchase locationsif the service or inventory of the component is unavailable in the firstservice or purchase location, wherein the at least one message furtherincludes the one or more second service or purchase locations.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the one or more vehiclecomponents is at least one of one or more vehicle bulbs or one or morevehicle tires.